-LRB- EW.com -RRB- -- This weekend , `` Hansel and Gretel : Witch Hunters '' hunted down the No. 1 spot at the box office with $ 19 million from 3,372 theaters . Although `` Hansel and Gretel '' can hardly be called a fairy-tale success at this point , it proved far more bewitching than fellow newcomers `` Parker '' and `` Movie 43 , '' which were left with only bread crumbs in their sad debut frame .

Paramount and MGM spent $ 50 million to produce `` Hansel and Gretel , '' which was shot in 2011 and originally scheduled to be released in March 2012 . Distributor Paramount moved the film 's release to this month to capitalize on star Jeremy Renner , whom the studio hoped would blossom into a true box-office draw following `` The Avengers '' and `` The Bourne Legacy . '' -LRB- It also seems likely that `` Hansel and Gretel '' got placed in January due to its poor quality -- January tends to be a dumping ground for studios ' stinkers . -RRB- Whether or not Renner had anything to do with it , the date change proved at least somewhat effective -- `` Hansel and Gretel '' outgrossed the last supernatural fantasy with Hunter in the title , `` Abraham Lincoln : Vampire Hunter , '' which staked a weak $ 16.3 million in its debut frame .

3-D showings of `` Hansel and Gretel '' accounted for 55 percent of its weekend gross , while IMAX made up 11 percent of the total . Due to its R rating , the Grimm tale played primarily to older audiences -- 57 percent of crowds were above the age of 25 , and 55 percent were male . Audiences issued the film a lukewarm `` B '' CinemaScore grade , so it seems unlikely that Hansel and Gretel will achieve strong word of mouth . Fortunately for Paramount -LRB- the studio suffered a rough winter with Jack Reacher , The Guilt Trip , Cirque Du Soleil : Worlds Away , and Rise of the Guardians -- which passed $ 100 million this weekend -RRB- , the film has already earned $ 35.8 million from international territories representing about 40 percent of the overseas market .

Last weekend 's box office champ , Mama , dropped 55 percent into second place with $ 12.9 million . With $ 48.7 million after 10 days , Universal 's $ 15 million horror entry has officially surpassed Gangster Squad as 2013 ′ s highest grossing release . Of course , that will change faster than you could say `` Iron Man 3 , '' but it 's an impressive performance nonetheless .

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Two Oscar contenders finished in third and fourth place with almost identical weekend grosses -- not to mention almost identical totals . `` Silver Linings Playbook '' dropped by an incredibly small 7 percent in its 11th weekend to $ 10 million . Weinstein 's $ 21 million drama continues to benefit from great word of mouth . And with $ 69.5 million so far and another month until the Oscars still to go , director David O. Russell 's Playbook is on track to finish above $ 100 million . `` Zero Dark Thirty , '' meanwhile , fell by a steeper 38 percent to $ 9.8 million and $ 69.9 million total in its sixth weekend . The $ 40 million Sony drama will need to notch better holds if it wants to join fellow Best Picture nominees Argo , Lincoln , Django Unchained , Les Miserables , and Life of Pi in the $ 100 million club .

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Jason Statham 's annual action misfire `` Parker '' lived up to its low expectations , finishing in fifth place with $ 7 million from 2,224 theaters . FilmDistrict 's shoot-em-up , whose budget was in the $ 35 million range , did n't get any boost from costar Jennifer Lopez , who proved unable to attract viewers outside her go-to rom-com genre . Parker opened short of Statham 's last three leading efforts , Safe -LRB- $ 7.9 million debut -RRB- , Killer Elite , -LRB- $ 9.3 million -RRB- , and The Mechanic -LRB- $ 11.4 million -RRB- , and it will likely finish below $ 20 million domestically . Between Parker , The Last Stand , Broken City , and Gangster Squad , January has been a difficult month for non-fantasy gun-driven violence . But at least audiences enjoyed Parker -- it earned a `` B + '' CinemaScore grade .

1 . Hansel and Gretel : Witch Hunters -- $ 19.0 million

2 . Mama -- $ 12.9 million

3 . Silver Linings Playbook -- $ 10.0 million

4 . Zero Dark Thirty -- $ 9.8 million

5 . Parker -- $ 7.0 million

See the original story at EW.com .

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`` Hansel and Gretel : Witch Hunters '' hunted down the No. 1 spot at the box office

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The movie scored $ 19 million from 3,372 theaters

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`` Parker '' and `` Movie 43 '' were left with only bread crumbs in their sad debut frame